Bilge Pump Heat Output

[BigTerp]

My bait tank seems to be working well. Have had as many as 52 minnows in it and have only lost 2 over the past nearly 3 weeks. 1 was a jumper and the other looked half dead so I got rid of him. I change about half the water every other day and put ice cubes in it as needed (usually every morning) to keep the temp down in the low 50's. I use a Marine Metal 110 volt air pump to keep the water oxygenated. Minnows seem healthy and very lively.

 

[BigTerp]

Still keeping minnows pretty well. Loss has been minimal with 5 total in 3-4 weeks (found 2 dead this morning). What I don't use this weekend fishing will get set free so I can get my cooler cleaned out and ready for fresh minnows. Overall I'm happy with my setup. Don't plan to keep minnows for this extended period of time (3-4 weeks) but haven't had the chance to fish lately. But it's nice knowing I can keep them alive and frisky for a few weeks at a time if need be.

 

[JMichael]

After I responded to this, I started thinking about how to improve on my bait holding tank. I went out to my buddies business and picked up a nice blue 55 gal plastic barrel. Cut the top third off and drained a gallon of commercial grade Roundup concentrate out of it (enough weed killer to last me a couple of years lol). Washed it out real good then moved my pump and spray bar over to my new tank. I started with about 25-30 gal of water and 6-7 dozen minnows. Haven't gotten to fish much since I did this but so far so good. Haven't lost any other than the few I've used while fishing a little. The rounded tank really seems to help keep the minnows from bashing their skulls in on the sides of the tank. Every time I take minnows out to fish, I take about 1.5-2 gal of the water with them. When I get back home I put any un used minnows back in the tank and toss the water they were in and add 2 gal of fresh water back to the tank. Working great so far as I haven't lost any in my holding tank. Just wish the weather would improve for a little better fishing conditions.

 

[BigTerp]

Yeah, when mine get spooked you can hear them smashing into the sides of the cooler. I'm sure it's not good for them. I've read that round is the way to go.